tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132020532024-03-07T16:58:35.436-05:00BLUE IN A RED STATE: Andy Lang's Blognews and views from the heartland of america's devolutionAndy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-89493828420738711712012-12-24T11:06:00.003-05:002012-12-24T11:06:51.904-05:00Advent abuse by the Knights of ColumbusHeadlines from my Advent photo essay on Facebook: Knights of Columbus, among other liturgically-incorrect horrors, straps the infant Jesus to his cradle! Cat sleeps peacefully under a Christmas tree! Contest for identifying the origins of an unusal Christmas tree skirt!Andy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-864866445328604982012-09-08T14:43:00.001-04:002012-09-08T14:47:38.083-04:0037 fun factoids, and their witty ripostesThis list was circulated by a friend in my office in 2003, with my comments in italics. It must have been a slow day! 1. The longest one-syllable word in the English language is “screeched.” I thought it was “sthwootsched.” 2. "Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt" Wrong again: also “verklemmt” and “bemt” (as in “Get bemt”). 4. The symbol on the “Andy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-86260648917426222662011-07-30T19:42:00.009-04:002011-07-30T19:55:14.847-04:00Highlights from Craigville ColloquyAndy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-37685735388041951852011-04-28T21:00:00.011-04:002011-04-28T22:32:40.781-04:00The Royal WeddingBuckingham Palace has released the official schedule for the viewing of the Royal Wedding at Lang Palace on Shaker Square.5:30 a.m. (9:30 GMT)The Lord Chamberlain, together with the cat of the household (Schatzi), rise and proceed to the kitchen.A high-protein, low-carbohydrate breakfast is prepared for the diabetic cat. The breakfast is served.5:50 a.m. (9:50 GMT)Coffee is prepared.The Andy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-1166762206718865972010-12-15T23:34:00.000-05:002010-12-16T21:48:16.712-05:00A Child's Yankee Christmas in Connecticutby Andy LangOn the first Christmas in New England, Indians arrived at the doors of the Pilgrims’ rustic meeting house bearing barrels of a spiritous liquor distilled from cranberries and pine needles. They found the church doors locked, and the entire community huddled inside their homes. Christmas, their ministers had told them, was a “paganish Mummerie of indecent Revells and the Werke of Andy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-53948733395886804532010-12-01T10:53:00.004-05:002012-09-08T15:01:22.129-04:00Nixon's the One!I was going to change the title of this blog after Democrats swept the national elections in 2006 and 2008, but I'm glad I waited! Once again I am Blue in a Red state.Speaking of Reaction, here's a memory from the summer and fall of '68, when, as a star-struck member of "Youth for Nixon-Agnew" (aka the "Nixon Jugend"), I took home from GOP headquarters in my home town a 45rpm record featuring theAndy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-26358396507474413662010-08-25T20:15:00.002-04:002010-08-25T20:20:11.627-04:00Lectionary Bible BookmarksNow that I've more free time that I'd anticipated, I thought I'd produce another sheet of Bible bookmarks with citations from "Daily Readings," the daily supplement to the Revised Common Lectionary for Sundays. These are easy to print out and use a bookmarks in your Bible for daily prayer or Lectio Divina. They're available here.Andy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-29726820079473537502010-02-11T11:35:00.003-05:002010-02-11T11:47:30.491-05:00Those HoodlumsThis was a delightful respite from the usual form of Internet scam. It takes fractured grammar to new heights. And what's with the address given (below) for the CIA?Central Intelligence AgencyCity in Carter Lane, next to St.Paul's.https://www.cia.gov/Att:This is letter from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) You was reported in this office last year that you have been dealing with some NigeriaAndy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-86951865323425974002008-11-10T16:11:00.006-05:002010-12-16T21:50:22.380-05:00Tradition and SexualityPlease note that this paper, which I wrote 12 years ago, does not reflect my current thinking on the subject. But I'm offering it for further discussion.Freedom, including my freedom to love, therefore begins with the sovereign freedom of God who elects humanity to be God’s covenant partner, and who forms our lives so that we are called to relationships that correspond to the image of God’s Andy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-71235590722823141302008-11-05T11:59:00.003-05:002008-11-05T12:08:00.829-05:00Pollsters got it rightAmong the winners in yesterday's elections were three polling firms: Rasmussen, Pew, IPSOS (McClatchy Newspapers) and Opinion Research (CNN).Rasmussen and Pew were right on the money, predicting a six-point spread at 52 percent for Obama and 46 percent for McCain. IPSOS and Opinion Research were off by one point, both predicting Obama would win 53 percent of the popular vote.Forecasting an Obama Andy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-88581376824203986732008-11-05T11:29:00.003-05:002008-11-05T11:59:08.294-05:00Blue in a Blue State!European newspapers are greeting Obama with ecstasy. German media in particular are shuddering with a delight not seen since the late edition of Voelkischer Beobachter on Jan. 30, 1933.Der Spiegel Obama erweckt das neue Amerika Obama awakens the new AmericaSueddeutsche ZeitungNeuer historischer Zeitabschnitt New chapter of historyZDF (German Second TV)Obama weckt Hoffnung in aller Welt Obama Andy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-2890819205032601962007-09-19T16:56:00.001-04:002008-12-11T01:26:17.944-05:00My revenge on a spam-tricksterThe spammer wanted to invest in medicine, poultry or real estate.They're mostly blocked by spam filters, but I still occasionally graze through the junk mail folder to enjoy the hundreds of offers of easy money. A born-again widow in the Congo has only months to live and wants to deposit $14 million in my bank account becaue she has heard that I am "trustworthy" and will spend the money "for the Andy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-9091929856930458472007-06-07T11:37:00.000-04:002008-12-11T01:26:18.233-05:00Paris Hilton precedent rocks justice system Paris Hilton "cracked" after three days in Los Angeles County Jail.On Monday, after 24 hours in the women's jail, Paris "was doing well under the circumstances," according to her lawyer, but her condition began to crumble later that day.(Warning: irony turned off.) The medical director for the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services was called in, and certified that Paris Andy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-71801967296856566772007-03-30T13:14:00.000-04:002008-12-11T01:26:18.413-05:00Hate crimes bill threat to free speech?Apparently the "Traditional Values" Coalition does not consider the ninth commandment ("Thou shalt not bear false witness") a traditional value.Rev. Lou Sheldon, the coalition's founder, is organizing a campaign to defeat Congressman John Conyer's "Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007." The law, he says, "begins to lay the legal framework to persecute and prosecute those who Andy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-23932836278750740712006-12-28T11:12:00.000-05:002008-12-11T01:26:18.773-05:00Gerald Ford's legacyFord in the Oval Office with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Chief of Staff Dick CheneyI think history will treat Gerald Ford kindly. He stepped up to the plate during a terrible time in our political history and his fundamental decency helped the country through the transition. He was not a great president, but he was a good president, and since G.W. Bush has significantly lowered the Andy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-1142283769395205752006-03-13T15:58:00.000-05:002006-12-22T23:10:26.516-05:00Building Christian community onlineIs genuine Christian community possible through the Internet? The latest in a series of experiments is i.UCC (at i.UCC.org)—an online community project sponsored by the United Church of Christ. I've been hired as developer and designer for the community.Please check it out, and let me know what you think.Andy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-1139261111437616492006-02-06T14:33:00.000-05:002006-02-08T20:13:48.153-05:00They must get paid by the wordLike the unfortunate Britishism "went missing", "famously" is currently one of the high-mindedly hip clichés that writers at the New York Times imagine will lend a certain cachet to their otherwise enervating style. There were 12 uses in the past week, 65 in the past month, 653 in the past year. Twenty years ago, the Times conjured up the adverb only 34 times. Like the avian flu, "famously" Andy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-1127406793158982312005-09-22T11:35:00.000-04:002005-09-25T20:14:40.370-04:00It's official: no celibate gay priestsThe decision was widely anticipated, but now it's official: the Roman Catholic church will bar all homosexuals from ordination to the priesthood—even those whose sexual probity is beyond question.The church is fortunate the new policy was not in force when Father Mychal Judge was ordained in 1961. He was the heroic fire chaplain who was buried with full honors after his body was pulled Andy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-1127144739577184842005-09-19T10:37:00.000-04:002005-09-23T21:24:17.700-04:00Left Party gains votes across political spectrumThe Left Party's opposition to American-style economic and tax policies was a magnet for voters from across the Federal Republic's political spectrum. The Left was the only party to win votes from all of the other major parties in Germany—from left to right. It was also uniquely the one party to mobilize non-voters who returned to the ballot box on Sept. 18 to cast their votes for the Andy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-1127074034011120562005-09-18T15:17:00.000-04:002005-09-22T22:58:18.643-04:00Left Party doubles vote in GermanyThe Left Party—an alliance formed by post-communists and defectors from Germany's ruling Social Democratic Party—has won 8.7 percent of the vote in today's federal election. The result more than doubles the party's previous score of 4 percent in 2002. In that election, just over 1.9 million voters supported the post-communists when the party failed to reach the five-percent thresholdAndy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-1124246388692513332005-09-18T00:01:00.000-04:002005-09-23T11:01:12.640-04:00Left on the rise in GermanyThis analysis of the Left Party's dramatic rise in German politics was originally published on Aug. 16. I am republishing it here for the convenience of my readers. The party's final score in Germany's federal election on Sept. 18 was 8.7 percent—more than 4 million voters.Left Party poster for candidate Lothar Bisky: "The market cannot rule everything. Whoever looks upon the world only as Andy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-1126389085012264952005-09-10T16:30:00.000-04:002013-11-11T15:22:39.512-05:00War of the Worlds: truth or fiction?One of the most interesting people I've met in Cleveland is Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Rumors that he is the former head of an international criminal organization are, he says, "LIES! ALL LIES!" I found his delightful reflections on Spielberg's "War of the Worlds" and its surprising relevance to current events worthy of note, and I think you will, too.
Blofeld's idea for a sequel: Mars is now Andy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-1125946005290770342005-09-05T14:22:00.000-04:002005-09-14T10:40:20.043-04:00We all live in an economic New OrleansBy Steve KurdzielSteve Kurdziel of Shaker Heights, Ohio, is our guest columnist as we continue to explore the moral and economic consequences of Hurricane Katrina. This column is a renewal after more than 30 years of our relationship as reporter and editor when we were undergrads at Georgetown University. He's a gifted writer and an occasional (and highly-praised) columnist for the Cleveland Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-1125797896138610012005-09-03T20:53:00.000-04:002005-09-14T11:51:23.283-04:00Undisposed bodies in a less-than-ideal world"In an ideal world, we would pick up and dispose of any cadavers," Secretary of Homeland "Security" Michael Chertoff said at a press conference Sept. 1. But "[w]e're not in an ideal world." An Army construction battalion begins to repair the damaged dikes. Oh, my mistake: that's a unit in Iraq.Political reporters like to know "where the bodies are buried." But, as we've watched the scenes of Andy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13202053.post-1124999290068535482005-08-25T14:33:00.000-04:002005-09-14T15:19:04.073-04:00Dietrich Bonhoeffer v. Pat RobertsonPat Robertson has apologized for his public call for the assassination of Hugo Chávez, but then compared the Venezualan president to Adolf Hitler and asked, "would it not be wiser to wage war against one person rather than finding ourselves down the road locked in a bitter struggle with a whole nation?"To sum up: Robertson is sorry he said the U.S. should kill Chávez. But he's not very sorry. "Andy Langhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05490449811588272391noreply@blogger.com9